Hanging By A Moment
by ParadiseLost23
Summary: AU Season 2. Claire's living in Costa Verde with the Bennet's, Peter never went Nuclear, Sylar's whereabouts are unknown and Hiro never went back in time. All of their lives collided at the end of season one, but did it change anything? Rated M to be safe
1. Summary

**Summary**

**Title: **Hanging By a Moment

**Synopsis:** Partly AU Season one and AU Season 2. Claire knows who her real parents are and what it is her adoptive father does, but as far as Noah is concerned her memory has been wiped. The events at Kirby Plaza took place, only Peter never went Nuclear, Claude helped him learn how to control his powers. Everyone was present except Claire and Noah. Hiro stabbed Sylar, but he escaped, and it is unknown if he is dead or alive. Hiro never travelled back in time. This story is set after an au season one.

**Characters:** Claire Bennet, Noah Bennet, Peter Petrelli, Nathan Petrelli, Matt Parkman, Nikki Sanders, D.L. Hawkins, Micah Sanders, Mohinder Suresh, October McBryde (OC), Hiro Nakamura, Claude Rains, Ando Masahashi, René aka The Haitian. (It is possible that more characters will arise in time. The beginning focuses mainly on the Bennet's and October, but eventually involves everyone.)

**Rating: **M, just in case.


	2. Quiet Things No One Ever Knows

**A/N: **So this is my first Heroes fic! I hope you guys like it; let me know what you think. I'm sorry if it's set out weirdly, it's refusing to do as it's told on the edit/preview option

**Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows**

_'There will always be something to ruin our lives. It all depends on what or which finds us first. You're always ripe and ready to be taken.' - Charles Bukowski _

_**BENNET HOUSE**_

_**COSTA VERDE, CALIFORNIA**_

Claire Bennet looked at herself once more in the mirror before smiling, content with how she looked. It had taken a while for her to get used to the new cheerleading uniform, she was so used to the red, white and slither of yellow that at first it felt strange to be wearing blue. She grabbed her bag from her bed as she heard her mother open the front door and rushed downstairs. Heading straight for the kitchen to grab something she could eat in the car, she smiled at the five people in the room.

"Morning Claire-bear." Noah greeted as he popped his head over the newspaper.

"Morning dad." Claire replied with a fake smile plastered on her face. Her adoptive father used to be able to tell between her fake and real smiles, but not anymore and for this she was thankful. She had gotten good at them over the months she had been in California, partly because of cheerleading and partly because of her best friend October McBryde, who could hide her emotions better than anyone she had ever met, and so had taught Claire how to do the same. Claire turned to the brunette who was currently leaning against the kitchen counter, dressed in the same outfit as Claire, happily eating a muffin. Claire picked a muffin off of the plate her mother was holding out toward her and then kissed her on the cheek. The blonde turned around and looked at her best friend.

"Ready to go?" October nodded in response, swallowing the last bite of her muffin.

"Thanks for breakfast Mrs. Bennet." October spoke in her thick Irish accent with a genuine smile on her face.

"You're welcome dear. You two girls have a good day. And good luck at the game." Sandra Bennet spoke as the two teenagers left the kitchen, ready to head to school.

"We will!" They shouted back in union as they exited the house and jumped into October's car. They sat in silence for a few moments as October pulled out of the Bennet's driveway. Claire was the first one to speak.

"Tobi, I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this." She sighed slightly, wishing she could just pack up and leave that second.

"I know Claire, but we have to stay and finish High School. Or try at least. After that we'll take off. It won't look so suspicious then." The blonde knew her best friend was right. If they took off too soon, Noah would know that the Haitian had lied and she couldn't risk it. The rest of the journey to Costa Verde High School was silent, both deep in thought, October humming ever so often to a song on the radio.

Claire thought about everything that had happened in the past few months. Homecoming in Texas seemed like such a long time ago; the night Sylar had come to kill her but killed Jackie instead, the night Peter Petrelli had saved her life and become her hero, the night she had found out what her dad really did. That night seemed like years ago, when in reality it had only been four months. It had been the middle of November when the Bennet's had moved to Costa Verde. Noah had told the family he had been offered a better job within Primatech and that a new start would be good for them.

As far as Noah Bennet was concerned, Claire didn't remember anything. Sylar killing Jackie, meeting Peter, being friends with Zach, Lyle finding out what she could do, knowing who her real parents were, and knowing that her dad didn't work for a paper company, that he hunted people like her. She wasn't supposed to remember any of it, but she did. The Haitian had allowed her to keep her memories, informing her that she needed them to stay safe and that there were people watching out for her. He wouldn't tell her anything else and she didn't push him to. The information she had was an overload as it was.

When she first started high school in California, Claire was dreading it. It was different to her old school in Texas, she didn't know anyone and to top it off, the school year had already started so cheerleading tryouts had already been and gone. She knew the only thing she could do was bide her time until she knew it was safe to leave. Then she'd go to New York; where her real family was.

However, on her first day at school she met October McBryde; senior and head cheerleader. The girl was beautiful and popular; the kind of person Claire would normally hang around with in Texas. By the end of November, the two were inseparable. October had gotten Claire onto the squad and had gained her trust. Claire desperately wanted to tell October what she could do, but she was afraid of loosing her only true friend, so she kept quiet. It was December when October learned of Claire's secret. The two had been practicing a new routine when Claire had fallen at an odd angle, breaking her leg. Of course Claire just popped it back into place, and then looked up at her friend ready for the running and screaming to begin; only it never did.

"Holy shit! You can do that too?" The look on October's face had been pure shock; her emerald eyes were wide as she gaped at the blonde on the floor whose eyes were just as wide.

"What do you mean 'too'?" It had turned out that her new best friend was keeping a secret too, not only could she regenerate like Claire, but she had super strength as well. The two teenagers had then spent the rest of the night at Claire's swapping stories. They talked about their abilities, when they had got them and how they had used them. Claire then went on to tell Tobi all about Sylar, Peter and her dad. It was from this day that the two became like sisters.

A few days later Claire went round to the McBryde house for the first time. October introduced her to her adoptive parents, and could tell straight away by the looking at Claire's face that there was something wrong. Luckily the blonde hid it well from Lucy and David Summers. When the Summers' had adopted the Irish girl when she was eleven, they wanted to change her last name to their own, but October wanted to keep McBryde; it was the only thing she had of her mother who had died when she was three.

October had ushered Claire upstairs, and asked what was wrong as soon as they were in the privacy of her room. Claire had then informed her that she had met Tobi's adoptive parents before. They had been the people who Noah had got to come round to their home in Texas and pretend to be her biological parents. They worked for the company too. It was then that the two made a pact; to save up and get ready to leave California as soon as they could.

The car stopped and brought Claire out of her thoughts. The two exited the car and entered the school grounds. They said their goodbyes as they separated for their classes.

* * *

Five minutes after the girls had left the house; Noah Bennet's cell phone began to ring. He excused himself from the kitchen, informing his wife and son that it was work, and exited the room for more privacy. He flipped the phone open and pressed it to his ear.

"This is Bennet." He listened intently to the voice on the other end and nodded, as if the person could see him.

"How soon?" Again there was a pause. Unconsciously nodding again, he made one last statement before ending the call.

"Can do. I'll bring her in tonight." With that, Noah walked back into the kitchen, sat down at the table and finished reading the newspaper, not giving a second thought to the job he had to do later.

_**PETER AND NATHAN PETRELLI**_

_**PETER PETRELLI'S APARTMENT**_

_**NEW YORK**_

Nathan paced up and down the room. He hated when this happened, and it happened a lot. Ever so often he would throw a glance toward his younger brother, who was still in some kind of trance with a paintbrush in hand. The eldest Petrelli brother had turned up at Peter's about an hour before, just to check in and see if he fancied helping around the office if he didn't have anything planned for the day.

Peter had agreed. With it being his day off work he had nothing else to do, and all of his friends would be busy until later on anyway. He had gone to get his jacket off of the table, when the blank canvas in the corner of the room had caught his eye. Colours began to appear, forming shapes that only he could see. He had stepped toward it, picked up a brush and then Issac Mendes' power took over.

Nathan had been pacing for fifteen minutes. The ten minutes before that were spent trying to snap Peter back to reality. He knew it was futile, but he really hated when this happened. A second later, Peter stepped back from the canvas as his eyes turned from white to brown again. "Finally!" Nathan exclaimed as he walked over to his brother to see what the future held.

The two brothers stood in silence for a few moments unsure of what the meaning of the painting was. The colours were dark, making them both believe that the event took place at night. A tall oak tree stood in the middle of the painting, a dark silhouette of a man underneath it. To the right of this was a girl. Her dark locks were spread across the grass she was laid on. Her emerald eyes shone with surprise and fear as her face seemed to show pain.

The Petrelli's couldn't help but stare. They wanted to look away, they just couldn't. Peter tried to take in every aspect of the painting, wanting to understand what it meant. There were only two figures in the artwork and as well as the tree, there were flowers, giving the impression of a garden. The girl sprawled on the grass was clothed in a uniform consisting of light and dark blue with the occasional white.

"Pete? What is it with you and cheerleaders?" Peter looked at his brother, unable to summon even a smile at Nathan's comment, fearing for the girl in the painting. There was no way to help her. He didn't know who she was or even where she was. There was no indication of when the event might take place. He didn't understand. Why was he able to paint this if he couldn't save her?

_**CLAIRE BENNET AND OCTOBER MCBRYDE**_

_**MATTHEWS' HOUSEHOLD**_

_**COSTA VERDE**_

School had ended hours ago, followed by the basketball match which their school team had won, as always. Claire and October were currently at Ryan Matthews' house for the after-party. A school tradition that the girls wouldn't dream of missing, after all they were teenagers; they deserved to have a little fun ever so often. Claire was sat on one of the many chairs sipping a soda as she listened to her fellow team-mate Rachel, talk about how dreamy Nathan Carter was. The blonde looked around for her best friend and chuckled slightly as she spotted her across the room. October was sat at a circular table with four other guys in the middle of a poker game.

The boys never did learn. October was brilliant at poker and always beat the boys whenever she played, winning a lot of money when she did, that she put towards the New York fund. Claire heard a cough and she tore her gaze away from the corner of the room to look at the blonde in front of her. Debbie Johnson. Claire rolled her eyes and silently groaned. The two had never gotten along. Debbie was a junior like Claire and also on the cheerleading squad. Debbie was the first person Claire had meant when she had arrived at Costa Verde high school and realised straight away that she was a complete bitch. She had at first thought that she was head cheerleader with the way she acted, but she soon found out that Tobi was. "How pathetic." Debbie started as she looked in the same direction Claire had been looking. "She isn't your friend you know. She just felt sorry for you when you first got here, and hasn't got the guts to tell you to get lost."

Claire smiled at the girl and shook her head. Debbie had always been jealous of October and Claire's friendship. She had always thought of herself as Tobi's best friend, following her around and trying to impress her. Because of this, Debbie hated Claire with a passion, not understanding why October would befriend the junior from Texas; although she never dared say anything in front of the head cheerleader.

"Back off Debbie, you crazy bitch. If I wanted to Claire to get lost, I'd tell her so." October sat on the arm of the chair Claire was occupying and waved the wad of twenty dollar bills in her hand in front of Claire's face, winking as she did so. The brunette looked up at Debbie, her long, straight hair shaping her face. "Get lost." She stated before turning back toward her best friend not giving Debbie another thought.

Once she had left, October rolled her eyes as she spoke. "She is such a pain in the arse." She picked up her drink which Claire had been watching for her a downed it in one. "There's nothing like a vodka and Redbull on a Friday night." She smirked at the girls around her as Claire laughed. The two knew that it took _a lot_ for them to get drunk, something to do with their abilities, but it never bothered Claire, she didn't drink. October on the other hand, hated it. She was and always had been a party girl, used to spending her weekends drunk and having people fill in the blanks for her when they went back to school. Because of this, she now always drank more than usual, using the excuse that her liver could heal itself whenever Claire mentioned it.

The two sat there for a while, gossiping with their friends and talking about the game they had just won. Tobi handed her poker winnings to Claire, who tucked them safely away in the bag at her feet, watching as she stood up.

"I'm just going for some air." She stated smiling at the girls as she walked away and exited the house. She closed the red door behind her and walked into the garden, shivering slightly. The wind was cool as it always was during February, and it didn't help that she was still wearing her cheerleading uniform. She walked forward slightly and glanced at the oak tree that stood tall to her right. It was then that she noticed a man appear from behind it. A man she recognised.

"Mr. Benett? What are you doing here? Claire's inside, but she isn't drinking. Scout's honour." She said as she held up her right index, middle and ring finger as if to prove the point.

"I'm truly sorry Tobi." Noah said as he reached for something in his pocket. October looked at him confused for a second, before seeing what looked like a stun gun in his hand. Before she could react, she could feel the electricity running through her body. Falling to the grass below her, she tried to call for help, but the darkness took over before she could.

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**A/N:** What did you think? Review and let me know people! If you like it then I'll have another chapter up as soon as possible. The other heroes will be in it soon, but these are the focus at the moment.


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